How to Stage an Intervention for Alcoholism

Few families are going to address Grandpa’s alcohol and Xanax habit in the early stages. So it’s likely that the problem you’re dealing with will be very serious. The Medstat study demonstrated that residential stays of 21 to 28 days were almost twice as effective in preventing relapse as stays of 7 days or less. You may find that an important member of the team is reluctant to become involved. They may be fearful of making the alcoholic angry, or they may doubt if an intervention is the right thing to do.

Your sanity and your serenity have been jeopardized for far too long, and with the right methods and a substance abuse treatment center as the final destination for the addict or alcoholic in your life, you can get them back. Finally, not having concrete and ready opportunities for the person to enter treatment right on the spot (during the actual intervention) will reduce the effectiveness of the intervention. Consulting an addiction professional, such as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor, a social worker, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, or an interventionist, can help you organize an effective intervention. An addiction professional will take into account your loved one’s particular circumstances, suggest the best approach, and help guide you in what type of treatment and follow-up plan is likely to work best.

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But some intervention specialists advise against this, particularly for younger children. Brief interventions are best applied for persons who do not meet the how to do an intervention for an alcoholic criteria for an alcohol use disorder, especially one of high severity. An intervention refers to an organized, structured delivery provided by loved ones.

Before you get started, however, there are some things to keep in mind, tips that you’ll want to pay attention to so that the intervention process isn’t derailed before it even begins. This process may be led and guided by an interventionist who is hired by the family or group. An interventionist should be a qualified mental health professional with training and experience in addiction treatment. Dealing with an alcoholic is one of the most frustrating things a person could ever have to face.

Unique Attributes Of An Alcoholic Intervention

There are several reasons as to why an intervention may fail such as your loved one refusing to recognize they have a drinking problem or thinking that they do not need treatment. In cases such as these, it’s important to remember that your loved one must be fully invested for recovery to work. You can stage an intervention and try to help, but the final decision is theirs alone. No matter what, know that you have your loved one’s best interest in mind. It’s tough to watch someone struggle with a drinking problem and destroy their life. By intervening and providing recovery resources, you are doing everything in your power to help.

You’ve decided to stage an intervention to coerce your addicted or alcoholic loved one into receiving treatment. Hopefully, you’ve consulted our Intervention Guide or talked with a professional interventionist like Bill Lee, part of the Cornerstone team. It’s challenging to help a loved one struggling with any type of addiction. Sometimes a direct, heart-to-heart conversation can start the road to recovery.

Intervention for an Alcoholic Compared to Drug Addiction

The financial cost of hiring an interventionist to conduct a formal intervention could far outweigh the emotional and financial cost of dealing with a loved one who is suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. When other, less costly options have been exhausted, it may be worth it to bear the financial burden to watch the loved one cultivate a healthy and happy lifestyle. Most of all, it’s important to follow up on interventions with the same type of concern and care for the person that led you to plan the event in the first place.

A drug intervention is a planned process designed to encourage someone to enter treatment. It typically involves a group of loved ones approaching an individual about their drug or alcohol addiction. Still, it’s important to be cognizant of your own personal boundaries and mental health. Groups like Al-Anon or Al-Teen provide several resources https://ecosoberhouse.com/ for people who are dealing with similar situations and may be a good place to look for your own support and comradery. Total abstinence from alcohol is not always the goal of an intervention or treatment process. Some people will be able to learn selective drinking behaviors and remove themselves from an alcohol abuse cycle.

It can be difficult for those struggling with a substance use disorder to realize or admit that they need help. If someone you love is struggling with alcohol, drug addiction, compulsive gambling or other destructive behaviors, staging an intervention might be the best way to help the person get better. People with serious addictive behaviors are often in denial that they have a problem. When heart to heart talks and other attempts to help prove ineffective, you can join forces with friends, families and a professional interventionist to confront the person with the truth and a detailed plan of action. Interventions can be a powerful process in helping your loved one recover from addiction. At Footprints to Recovery, we’re here to help you and your family during this time.

• That said, the above factors tend to be significantly more important than the area itself.
• Conversations that are guided by a trusted loved one who provides love, encouragement, and support may be more productive.
• We strive to make the process of holding an intercession as easy as possible.
• It’s also important to know that an individual with a drug or alcohol addiction who feels pressured into seeking help may not be fully committed to the process of living a sober life.
• Our specialists are trained in each of the above intercession methods and will be able to help you decide which one is best for the intercession that you are planning.

This is why many professionals recommend practicing what you will say or writing it down ahead of time in order to keep the conversation on topic. Use the information you find to start putting a plan in place about what to discuss and who to include in the intervention. Every intervention is unique, so you can change things to make it personal and relatable for your loved one. How an alcoholic behaves and how a family is affected by alcohol is described in our drug addiction intervention section. An interventionist can direct and plan an intervention with you to get the highest possible chance of a positive reaction.